It’s a plan Harper promised he’d deliver during the 2011 election campaign and the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s president and CEO John Lounds said it was time to see some action.

“It has been a bit of a time for them to get this out, but we’re really pleased to see it today,” Lounds said.

Protesters from the New Brunswick labour sector gathered outside the announcement, chanting as the motorcade left.

“He’s taken down environmental protection for our fresh water and lakes and streams,” said CUPE local president Daniel Legere. “I guess that’s what he’s in there talking about, environmental protection, which is ironic.”

Harper last visited the province in Aug. 2013, after TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline announcement, when he toured Saint John’s Irving Oil refinery and made stops in Miramichi and Moncton.